Officer: Teen driver lucky to have survived collision with logging truck in Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, Maine — A Waterville teenager is lucky to be alive after the car she was driving collided with a logging truck Wednesday morning, according to police.

Anna Clark, 18, was heading south on Route 201 in her Volkswagen Beetle when she drifted over the center line and struck the rear axle of a northbound truck driven by Gregory Stratton, 57, of Steuben, Fairfield police Officer Karen O’Donnell said.

Clark’s vehicle hit the rear axle of the truck’s trailer, O’Donnell said, and she was trapped in her Volkswagen, which was demolished.

“The angels were watching out for her,” O’Donnell said.

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Stratton was heading toward the Warren paper mill in the Hinckley section of Fairfield when the collision occurred around 7:50 a.m., O’Donnell said. His rig was loaded with logs.

Clark had several broken bones but was talking at the scene, according to O’Donnell. She was taken by Delta Ambulance to Thayer Hospital in Waterville, where she underwent immediate surgery for her injuries.

A hospital spokeswoman said Thursday afternoon that Clark is listed in fair condition at the facility.

O’Donnell said indications are that Clark was not using her cellphone at the time of the crash.

“Her cellphone had to be removed from her pocket,” O’Donnell said.

Stratton was not injured in the crash, which shut down Route 201 for five hours while authorities cleaned up the scene and reconstructed the accident.

O’Donnell was assisted at the scene by Fairfield police Officers Matthew Wilcox and Spencer Grinnell, the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office and Fairfield Fire-Rescue.